Managing State Trust Lands Fiduciary Duty in the Changing West
In partnership with the Sonoran Institute
Challenges & Opportunities
Whitefish Planning Process
The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation recently completed a collaborative, community-base land use planning process in the town of Whitefish, a gateway community to Glacier National Park. Although traditionally the Whitefish economy has been based on timber and rail industries, the community has grown rapidly over the past few decades and has shifted from a resource-based economy to a service-based economy that relies on the natural amenities of the area. The state trust lands in the area (approximately 13,000 acres), currently managed for timber, are under increasing pressure for development, as well as for the preservation of recreational and conservation uses that contribute significantly to the local economy and its growth potential.Because of the controversy and the high political stakes involved with the potential development of these lands, the Board of Land Commissioners engaged a diverse group of community stakeholders to develop a Whitefish State Lands Neighborhood Plan. The plan, adopted in 2004, strongly reflects the community's concerns by allocating only a small amount of land for development in the near term. It proposes to develop new revenue generation mechanisms that will increase value to the trust while preserving the lands for traditional uses (such as timber production), or to identify disposition strategies that will result in the conservation of the lands.
Download the Whitefish State Lands Neighborhood Plan (DNRC).